Saw the Red Sox at Fenway Park this year

No idea what it cost (corporate jolly - which rather speaks to my point, actually) but it was very clearly *not* for blue-collar America. Everything was firmly targetted at the middle class (in whose ranks, no doubt, I certainly count).

There was *no* atmosphere, apart from a few spontaneous "Red Sox Let's Go" chants which were frankly embarrassing. After the seventh inning they even had a singalong with words and a bouncing ball on the screen to tell the crowd what to sing (it was "take me to the ball game Daddy" or some such s**t).

Such a huge contrast between that and the visceral experience of watching football in the early 80s, say (to pick up recent discussions off of on of out of on here).

But my Fenway Experience is very much the way football is also going. I know it's inevitable, way of the world all of that. But an old man is meant to be nostalgic and I rather liked football the way it was, standing, the surges, the full knowledge of dodgy people and groups that it was nonetheless almost, though not quite, entirely possible to steer clear of.

I do wonder where that sense of community we used to have has gone and what other outlets "the youth" have for, well, youthful behaviour but that's just me being doddery again.

Football is special because it starts from communities and is firmly rooted there in a way most sports simply aren't and making it impossible for most kids from those communities to see the games is a backwards step for me, no matter how you cut it.

Posted By: Old Man on October 31st 2012 at 17:39:03

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